


blood of the covenant

by communisteevee



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Angst, Headaches & Migraines, Homelessness, Other, im in rarepair hell, listen galio is beautiful but have you considered liogueimei - Freeform, the liogueimei is all subtext babey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:00:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24814231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/communisteevee/pseuds/communisteevee
Summary: Lio looks at his boys and wonders what makes the Burnish so dangerous, so guilty.
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Gueira/Meis
Comments: 9
Kudos: 29





	blood of the covenant

**Author's Note:**

> the title was almost “acab”
> 
> ANYWAY thanks to mis for making me watch this beautiful movie ily bitch 
> 
> also thanks to j, carrot, and sinderellaa (read her fics they're so good!!) from the discord server!

Lio knows Flares can happen any time, any place. He knows his Flare was special. 

* * *

Lio gets good at pickpocketing quickly. He learns where to hide and the best places to beg for food. When no one will give him any food, he heads to the dumpsters. He can’t afford to be picky. 

* * *

He meets another kid on the streets once. She’s fifteen, four years older than him. She shows him new places where he can rest, hidden away from prying eyes. In return, he shares his food. And his flames. 

He still remembers the way her eyes widened, jaw slack in the face of his fire. 

“I’ve never seen something so beautiful,” she whispers, eyes zeroed in on the way his flames glow an unnatural pink and green. 

Lio smiles as he snuffs his flames. 

Five weeks into running with the girl, the Freeze Force corners them in an alley one afternoon. He looks to the girl, terrified and confused, only to watch her step behind one of the soldiers. 

She looks sad. “It’s us or you.”

He wonders if she regrets it. 

* * *

Lio thinks the first headache should have been a clue. It wasn’t debilitating, not like they are now. But they’ve only gotten worse, stronger over the years. 

The flames are just so fucking _loud_ sometimes. They beg, plead for him to burn hotter, stronger, longer. But he doesn’t want to get caught again, so he lights the tip of his finger and wishes the flames would understand. 

* * *

Lio almost never comes across any other Burnish, but the ones he does find, he helps smuggle them out of cities, gets them food and clothes and shelter, teaches them ways to burn without being caught. It’s the least he can do. 

He sees the confusion at being helped by someone so young, but they never turn him away. Burnish have to stick together. 

* * *

Lio meets Meis and Gueira three days after his nineteenth birthday. His present to himself was going to be a forest fire. 

He’s making his way to the center of the forest when he stumbles across them, two young men curled around each other against the base of a large tree. 

They shoot to their feet, the one with short hair jumping in front of the other, defensive. They stare at him, apprehension written all over their faces.

He wonders what they see, what they think. He knows he must be filthy, hair matted, deep bags under his eyes. The flames were particularly demanding last night. 

They don’t look much better. 

Lio narrows his eyes, weighs the pros and cons of what he’s about to do. He sets his hands ablaze and steps back, watches closely for their reactions. 

The short-haired man’s shoulders sag, a deep sigh leaving him. The other man steps forward after a moment of hesitation and introduces them. 

“I’m Meis. This is Gueira. We’re like you.” 

They explain that they had their Flares three weeks ago, and they’ve been on the run since. 

Lio can’t imagine Flaring so late in life. It must have been jarring, frightening even, to leave everything behind. At least Lio already had nothing. These men left their lives behind when they ran. 

Lio doesn’t introduce himself right away, not this time. He’s learned his lesson. But he does give them a small smile, lets them see a little more of his flames. 

It’s not a forest fire, but it will do. 

* * *

The Mad Burnish starts out as an accident. Lio, Gueira, and Meis had gotten too cocky (something Lio would never have done on his own, but his boys brought it out in him). They’re messing around on a roof one day, relaxing as much as fugitives can, bouncing flames back and forth in a game of catch.

The flames bounce out of control, and the next thing Lio knows, some important building is burning to the ground. Sirens are blaring and Meis and Gueira have frozen, fight-or-flight failing them. Lio curses and grabs their arms, molding his flames into armor for the three of them. Meis and Gueira get with the program and run with him, only to stumble back and fall when he launches himself into the air, flames propelling him. He halts at their hesitance, curses his lack of foresight. Of _course_ they wouldn’t be able to fly with him. Fucking _flames_ , they should never have come here. 

Lio eyes his surroundings, Meis and Gueira stumbling to their feet. His flames react to his thoughts, a sleek motorcycle forming. He drops down to the roof and drags the other two behind him and onto the bike. 

That day the three of them are deemed the “Mad Burnish.” Lio spends the night sleeping away from his boys for the first time in months, shaking apart at the seams because he’s spent so, so long on the run. And now they know who he is. They know he exists, how powerful his flames are. 

Lio sits up and stares at his boys. They had fallen into restless sleep hours ago, still shaken up from only narrowly escaping. He looks and looks at them, wondering what makes them so dangerous, so guilty. 

Lio swears to make himself into someone worthy of the title of Leader of the Mad Burnish. 

The first time Gueira and Meis call him _Boss_ , he has to make up an excuse to leave the room. He’s sure they know he’s crying anyway. 

* * *

Mad Burnish grows. They become known worldwide as a terrorist group, and it makes Lio’s blood boil. They don’t have a _choice_ , no matter what that idiot Galo Thymos says. 

They save the world by setting it ablaze. For the first time, Lio’s flames are silent.

* * *

Kray is in anti-Burnish cuffs and the Burning Rescue team has formed a circle around him, making sure he won’t try to escape. 

Lio looks at Galo, looks at his boys. He laughs, shaking with relief and the dregs of adrenaline. They made it.

**Author's Note:**

> flame count: 16
> 
> while writing i got this image in my head of baby lio on the run, just trying to survive and burn in peace. i hc that his awakening/flare was really, really intense, and that he had his flare bc he saw someone slapping a burnish around and was just so upset that his promare awoke and reacted 
> 
> on that note: consider the image of baby lio during his awakening, burning and screaming not bc the flames hurt, but bc the fire is so intense that he can't help but react so strongly
> 
> anyway thanks for reading!
> 
> i’m @i-eatcommasfor-breakfast on tumblr, come chat!!


End file.
